This invention relates to automatic product marking.
Automatic marking is used in production facilities, for example, to mark individual consumer units, boxes of units for delivery (dispatch units), as well as whole pallets of boxes (pallet units). Automatic marking can include such functions as marking the units with production and expiry dates, product bar code, measured unit weights, etc. For example, in a candy bar factory, the wrapping for individual candy bars may be marked with the manufacturing date, an expiry date, and an identification of the plant and line on which the candy bar was produced. Similarly, cases of candy bars may be similarly marked. Pallets of various candy bars may be marked according to their intended destination, as well as by the content of the pallet.
Products are increasingly being marked with information that is more specific. For example, the weight of individual food packages may be marked on each package or specific serial numbers may be assigned to individual packages. For example, a unit of cheese may be marked with the individual weight of the package. There is a need to be able to control and record the markings on the units to allow them to be tracked and to integrate the markings with other systems, such as inventory control systems and warehousing applications.
The markings on a product may be applied to pre-printed packaging, such as to cardboard boxes or foil wrappers, or may be applied to labels, which are then applied to the unit. Increasingly, the markings also include radio-frequency-identification tags (RFID tags), for example, that include specific identifying information for each unit that is tagged.